Woman dies of horror ‘rat fever’ that triggers bleeding from the eyes as officials race to trace contacts

A WOMAN has died of Lassa fever, an Ebola-like disease also known as 'rat fever', prompting urgent contact tracing.

The horrific virus can cause bleeding from the eyes, though 80 per cent of victims show no symptoms.

The woman, from Iowa, US, was diagnosed with the virus after visiting Africa and travelling back by plane, health authorities said.

Lassa fever, which is in the same viral hemorrhagic fever category as Ebola, is rarely seen in the US.

The US has reported just eight known imported cases of the bug in the past 55 years, including this latest.

It’s endemic to West Africa, where it causes hundreds of thousands of infections — and 5,000 deaths — every year.

There is currently no vaccine to treat or prevent it.

The middle-aged woman returned to the US from West Africa early this month [October].

The patient was not sick while travelling so the risk to fellow plane passengers is "extremely low", the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a release published on Monday.

"The patient was hospitalised in isolation at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center when they died earlier this afternoon," they added.

Preliminary tests were positive for the virus, and the CDC is working to confirm the diagnosis.

Iowa public health officials are racing to find close contacts of the woman who may be carrying the bug.

Those identified will be monitored for 21 days to make sure they don't develop symptoms.

Lassa fever is an illness caused by the Lassa virus, which is listed on the World Health Organisation’s list of notorious pathogens that have epidemic or pandemic potential.

The virus causes headaches, weakness, coughing, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pains and a sore throat.

In severe cases, the disease can affect many organs and can damage the body's blood vessels.

This can lead to bleeding from the ears, eyes, nose, mouth and other body openings, as well as breathing problems, facial swelling, chest pain and shock.

Around one per cent of people who are infected die, although this rises to 15 per cent in people who are admitted to the hospital with severe symptoms, and up to 70 per cent in some areas.

It is spread through contact with the urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats, and is particularly prevalent in poorer communities.

The virus can spread from human to human in rare circumstances, especially when healthcare workers come in contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids or via sex.